Black Eyed Peas

Went to see Black Eyed Peas live at Budoh-kan last Thu. I guess a lot of people consider them to be shameless sellouts that decided to give up their style and spirit in exchange for the stardom they have achieved. Well, I guess I can kinda see that esp in the songs like Don't Lie and My Humps. These songs are hardly Hip-Hop. But if you look at the members of group and their diverse backgrounds, you can kinda see why how their sound may differ from ordinary Hip-Hop groups that typically solely consist of African American rappers. Each member of BEP comes from a very different ethnic background (most of them are of mixed ethnic origins). Consequently, their musical backgrounds significantly differ. The unique chemistry and style that the group now has achieved, I believe, owes a lot to this diversity. Their music is not bound to a single genre just as their ethnic backgrounds.

The concert lasted approximately 2 hours, maybe a little less. I had seen them live once at this Rock festival called Rock Odyssey a couple of years ago and I had been wanting to check them out again. The songs they played were mostly from their most recent full album Monkey Business with some popular tracks from their previous album Elephunk mixed in. The show was nothing short of entertaining and they really got the crowd going with their solid musical performance as well as breakdancing. I missed the first 5-10 min of it but was able to catch most of their popular songs such as: "Don't Phunk with My Heart", "Don't Lie", "Where is the Love?" , "Shut up", "Pump It", "My Humps", "Let's Get Retarded", etc.

During the show, they had a segment where each of them performed a song that demonstrated their background: Fergie doing a Guns N'Roses cover, apl.de.ap singing in Tagalog, Will.i.am playing guitar and drums, etc... It was really interesting to watch.

Yeah, BEP may have changed, they are no longer doing underground Hip-Hop which to some may seem like they've gone "soft". But I personally actually really like how their music is not bound to a single genre of music. And like or not, not many can deny the fact what they are producing is unique. I definitely would be interested in what they'll come up with next and checking them out live again when they decide to come here next time.